Picture 1 is from Reg and shows a beautifully curved path leading you up to, and then into, the grove of Silver Birch with its dappled shade.One of my favourite childhood rhymes was -
"The Silver Birch is a dainty lady/
She wears a satin gown....."
by Edith Nesbit. She goes through all the common trees in order and says something nice about each.
Reg said he had taken the picture with his 500mm Nikkor lens. Thinking he must have re-mortgaged the house to buy it, I decided to check the metadata. What a relief - it was his 50mm Nikkor !
The Lavender bed in the right-hand corner is very attractive too. The blacks in the wood are black and the white trunks are white. 18 out of 20 territory I think.
Picture 2 is a what-do-you-call-it ? This very handy piece of kit has been in the family a long time. Very hard steel it is amazing what it will go through without demur. My Dad called it a 'gimlet' but my Uncle Vince said it was a 'bradawl' ? Your views would be welcomed. Again, I think Reg, as an engineer, can probably 'name that tool'.
Comments......
Bungus ...... Ha Ha ! Roll-map herrings indeed. Well spotted.
Like you SoM is far too twee for me. Not that that always matters. I enjoyed Carousel and Oklahoma well enough. Couldn't find you a decent link to Oklahoma - they were all to some kids high school 2007 production.
The Isle of Wight holiday doesn't seem too much to us. As I said, they pick us up at the door, there's porterage at each end. And both Y and I actually enjoy coach travel. Relaxing and interesting, and sitting in a coach is as comfortable as sitting anywhere else. 'Tim Drapers' have put us just behind the driver so I can stick my leg down the aisle if I need to.
I feel sure that your agoraphobia is medical-condition based - and once you are up to it, you and I can do something stimulating. Rob would love to meet you, - must be near the top of the list. Thanks for the jersey/guernsey/gansey material.
AnonymousRob ...... Thanks for your continued good wishes Rob and is a pleasure to report that we are both measurably better.
Re 'the bellows' - I think I have metering but certainly not auto-focus. And YES please - tuition would be most welcome.
Re the 'sunset' - as you obviously realise, the sky is that dark becase I under-exposed by nearly 3 stops to keep some definition near the sun.
Re the 'roll-mop herrings' and the floor smelling fishy. The problems are a matter of scale !
Jill ..... I suspect that roll-mops are like Marmite - you either love it or hate it. There's no middle point.
I see what you mean about the 'quick' crossword. Looks v. interesting. Will have a go sometime during the week.
I'm sorry to say that the Colour Mag, including the yarnstorm stuff, is already in the bin. Probably wrongly, we both feel the magazine has an air of desperation about it and in consequence we bin it unread.
We no longer bake at all. David inherited the bread-making machine and I think they use it regularly. I think 'passing through' seems to be a way of life for long-tailed tits. They seem to 'pass through' here around 10.30am and one morning I am going to set up a tripod and tackle and sit in wait. But nearly everything except simple survival has been on hold for nearly a week.
I think the gap in your education about 'bellows' could well have remained unfilled - without detriment.
Y really loved your super 'proper' letter which arrived this morning - she will reply soon.
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Quotation time .................... I think I could do an anthology of US of A presidential quotes. But I just couldn't bring myself to publish a Bush-ism - however ridiculous. My keys would freeze !
"No man ever listened himself out of a job"
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2 comments:
You are right about medicine / agoraphobia.
At 8.00 this morning (Mon) I told Sandra I would not be going to the event described below. A couple of hours and 5 cups of tea later I changed my mind and, at 11.30, walked uncertainly down to the Dukeries Community College (which tatered me).
There, in the theatre, Sir Andrew Buchanan, Lord Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire presented the Queen’s Award for Volunteers to the Dukeries Community Workshop. This award is considered the group equivalent of an MBE (2 up; one more for the hat trick; back to scrubbing and ironing for madam tomorrow).
The school band performed before the presentation, with a bassoon solo by my step-step-grandson Daniel who has just gained a place at the Trinity School of Music in London (he has already practised with the Halle).
I sat with granddaughter Alex (on her 18th birthday). After the ceremony she asked “Can we go now?” to which I replied,
“I think we should wait for the Lord Lieutenant to go first. It’s like a funeral where you wait …”,
“… for the dead person to go first,” said Alex.
Including the ‘chain gang’ (mayors, chairpersons, Sheriff, etc) about 100 people attended the ceremony, which was followed by a buffet lunch in the foyer where an impressive exhibition of work had been mounted.
Sadly, there appeared to be more guests than members present, although one ACE kid had cycled the 7 or 8 miles from Bilsthorpe.
There is a feeling that this unique enterprise is likely to fold within a few years as all the leaders, wilting by the day, are pensioners and/or people with disabilities and no one else appears interested in getting involved in management with a view to taking over. This unfortunate situation seems to be typical of so many voluntary groups.
I had some left over roast veg (potato, sweet potato, butternut, green pepper, onion, garlic) which I used as the basis of an over elaborate 'Spanish' omelette.
It would have been very good if I hadn't overcooked it.
I also made a gooseberry (and elderflower cordial) oat crumble with real (ie Birds powder) custard made with Channel Island milk (a real disappointment - back to the Ambrosia or Heinz, Delia).
The tool is a bradawl. A gimlet has a screw thread. I used to have both before people started ‘borrowing’ my tools. I also had several pairs of pliers which some people call pincers – not the same at awl.
I disagree about the love/hate aspect of rollmops. To me, as with cornichons and olives, I am unsure whether I like them or not. So I try them every so often. Very easy to overdo it though.
Given a choice between rollmop herrings and a gansey, I’d take the gansey (I checked the internet price, over £70)
Rob:
Re GandY’s Isle of Wight trip. It is simply that, if my health was as volatile as G’s has been lately, I would not feel comfortable about going on holiday. I am only prepared to ‘carpe diem’ when I feel up to it.
I take G’s point that it is only sitting down but, although I would happily go on a coach (but not on a coach tour) it is, as I said, the sitting down for more than a few minutes that bothers Sandra. She also feels sick.
I nearly cycled to the Isle of Wight with a friend in 1950 but a polio epidemic there caused a change of mind and we did the south coast instead which led to Southampton and Winchester and a visit to Norway the following year. So much for planning.
I am pleased you are both feeling better. We both tend to doze off on coaches, so miss any scenery (though nowadays it is mostly just motorway we miss). I just find any form of travelling tiring. Are you staying in one place on the IoW or moving hotels? We found doing a night here, night there the real killer, would wake up in the night and wonder where in hell with bathroom was tonight. We have decided not to do any more of these - we have done 6-week ones across US/Canada in the past.
Bungus, I was part of the polio scare in the IoW in l950 - was on holiday and spent overnight in local hosp. with high temp.and aches and pains in joints, but it wasn't. I remember they closed all the swimming pools.
That is one good photo of the birches - I immediately thought it was a lovely photo, but I need someone like you to point out why it is good.
Tell Y she can do the ironing with a smooth rock heated in the camp fire....
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